Organizational Setting

The Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (REU) is responsible for leading FAO’s response to regional priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development through the identification, planning and implementation of FAO’s priority activities in the region. It ensures a multidisciplinary approach to programmes, identifies priority areas of action for the Organization in the Region and, in collaboration with departments and divisions at Headquarters, develops, promotes and oversees FAO's strategic response to regional priorities.

In response to the growing demand for seizing the opportunities brought by digital technologies, FAO REU established its specialised team for Digital Agriculture in 2020. With a mission to act as a catalyzer for the digital transformation of agriculture across Europe and Central Asia, the team provides critical capabilities to country offices, technical units, and Members, while leading the implementation of key corporate initiatives, such as the FAO Digital Villages (DVI), Hand-in-Hand, and AgriTech Observatory. In 2023, the team was awarded as FAO Team of the Year.

Reporting Lines

The Digital Agriculture Specialist (Technical Project Management) will work under the supervision of the Head of Digital Agriculture.

Technical focus

The incumbent will contribute to the implementation of FAO’s Strategic Framework linked mainly to Digital Agriculture (BP5): “Provision of analytical and technical support for conducting research and assessments, studies, formulating strategies, programmes, and supporting projects for the digitalization of food and agriculture and rural areas.”

Tasks and responsibilities

Technical support:

-    Contribute to the development of analytical frameworks, assessment methodologies and technical guidance to support situational analyses and the formulation of evidence-based policies, strategies and programmes;
-    Conduct assessments and situational analyses of the digitalization of the agrifood sector, and contribute to drafting of analytical reports and policy recommendations;
-    Provide technical inputs to the development and revision of key programmatic documents, including Country Programming Frameworks (CPFs), briefs, and concept notes; support in responding to technical requests from country offices and HQ on digital agriculture topics
-    Contribute to the implementation of the Digital Villages Initiative (DVI) and other regional initiatives, to support the adoption of digital technologies that improve agricultural productivity, livelihoods and access to services in rural areas;
-    Support countries in the design and development of e-government systems and services for the agrifood sector, including the preparation of functional and technical requirements, aligned with international standards and best practices.
-    Stay abreast of emerging technologies, concepts, good practices, standards in the digital agriculture domain and share the relevant insights with the team.

Project management:

•    Support the technical coordination of assigned digital agriculture projects, from project design and work planning through implementation, monitoring and closure, ensuring delivery within scope, timeline and budget;
•    Support the Operations Specialists in the coordination of the day-to-day project operations, including delivery tracking, budget monitoring and expenditure forecasting, procurement, recruitment processes;
•    Provide technical input to the work of national consultants, service providers and implementing partners of assigned projects, and help in ensuring that project activities, deliverables and technical outputs meet the required technical quality standards, methodologies and international best practices and standards in digital agriculture;
•    Support the LTO in the preparation of project progress and donor reports, technical briefs and inputs, in line with FAO reporting requirements and results-based management principles;

Programme support:

•    Support liaison with government counterparts, FAO country offices and technical divisions, donors, academia, the private sector and other partners, and participate in meetings, workshops, conferences and other relevant events under the guidance of the Head of Digital Agriculture;
•    Support resource mobilization by identifying funding opportunities and developing concept notes and project proposals, applying results-based management and Theory of Change frameworks, and by supporting donor outreach and partnership-building efforts;
•    Support in the development of knowledge products and communication materials, including technical reports, articles, presentations, social media content and visibility materials, and coordinate end-to-end publication workflows with contributors, editors, designers and translators;
•    Support the organization and delivery of regional and national events, webinars and technical workshops;

The preferred duty station for the assignment is Budapest, Hungary. However, home-based candidates in a suitable time zone may also be considered.
This position offers a consultancy contract for 11 months with the possibility of extension contingent upon the incumbent's satisfactory performance. A break from duty of at least 30 consecutive days is mandatory within any twelve-month period after which the contract is renewable upon satisfactory performance and funds availability.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    Advanced university degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in Agricultural Sciences, Digital Transformation, Information Technology, Computer Science, Data Science, Agricultural Science, Economics, International Development, Public Administration, or a related field. Consultants with a bachelor's degree need two additional years of relevant professional experience.
•    At least 3 years of relevant experience in project management, digital transformation of the agrifood sector, agriculture or rural development projects, or related fields.
•    Working knowledge (Level C) of English and Russian (Level C).

FAO Core Competencies

•    Results Focus
•    Teamwork
•    Communication
•    Building Effective Relationships
•    Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

•    Extent and relevance of experience in management of development projects, including work planning, budget monitoring, procurement, recruitment, coordination of stakeholders.
•    Familiarity with emerging technologies in digital agriculture, such as precision agriculture, remote sensing, IoT, Artificial Intelligence, etc.
•    Extent and relevance of experience in digital agriculture, digital transformation projects.
•    Extent and relevance of experience in research and analysis, including the preparation of assessments, analytical reports, policy recommendations and knowledge products.